Minor Trial Underway in Mississippi

This week, the second criminal trial of Mississippi attorney Paul Minor gets under way. For the most of you who don't follow Mississippi politics, Minor is a successful plaintiff's attorney who was known as "the judge maker" in Mississippi democratic circles because of his key role in raising money for progressive judicial candidates. (You can read more about him in my book.) He was also a big donor to a political action committee founded by state trial lawyers to counter the influence of big business in other local elections. (Another one of its founding donors was the former trial lawyer, state legislator and author John Grisham.)

The U.S. Attorney in Mississippi accused Minor of bribing several state court judges to secure favorable rulings in his cases. The ensuing FBI investigation and 2003 indictment of Minor and several judges came at the same time the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into judicial elections in the state. The indictment all but ensured that trial lawyers stopped giving money to the Democratic party and to its candidates in the state, giving the GOP and the business groups a huge spending advantage. (There is no other source of money for progressive candidates in Mississippi besides trial lawyers.)

The part of the story that doesn't usually make the news is that the famous lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs (portrayed in the movie "The Insider"), also did some of the same things that Minor is accused of but he wasn't prosecuted, something conspiracy theorists attribute to the fact that he's Trent Lott's brother-in-law.

Minor was acquitted of some of the charges in 2005 but the jury deadlocked on the rest. In the first go-around, the U.S. Attorney had a pretty weak case. (Why the U.S. Attorney got involved at all is something of a mystery, given that the crimes involved are state misdemeanor campaign finance violations.) In one instance, the office charged Minor with bribing a judge who wasn't even on the bench when Minor paid off one of his campaign loans and another who had actually recused himself from all of Minor's cases. Given Minor's skills as an attorney, too, he didn't need to bribe judges to get favorable rulings. And his firm had already won $70 million in tobacco litigation fees, so it's not like he needed any financial help.

Anyway, the U.S. Attorney will get a chance to correct his mistakes this time, but so, too, will Minor's defense team. It will be interesting to see what happens. If Minor is convicted, Mississippi will essentially be criminalizing campaign contributions, which will leave it in a rather odd situation down the road...

Comments

[Nancy Swan]

It is obvious this author does not know what is going on in Mississippi. Minor was my former attorney and former judge Whitfield, whom Minor stands accused of bribing, was my judge.

I am supporting the government's case because I was one of Minor and Whitfield's victims. Minor got arrogant with his power and Whitfield got stupid and they got caught. The opening arguments of all three defense attorneys sounded more like, "Yes Lord, I have sinned, but I have several excellent excuses."

The issue is not the right to make campaign contributions, it is bribery - the right to influence judicial decision. If Minor, Whitfield and Teel are not convicted on all counts, not only the state, but federal courts are at risk.

Slavery is still thriving in Mississippi. Our laws are meant to protect the powerless from exploitation from the rich and powerful. But, Mississippi lawmakers have continued to make it possible for the rich and powerful to control our courts and the government for their own profit. No wonder recovery from Hurricane Katrina remains a disaster. Until this issue- the bribing of Mississippi public officials- is resolved, those with Katina losses will continue to lose.

If Minor and these two judges are not convicted I would suggest every citizen all start talking to their bankers about how they can guarantee loans for their "friends" on the court.

[Patience]

You note "Why the U.S. Attorney got involved at all is something of a mystery, given that the crimes involved are state misdemeanor campaign finance violations"... now that we're hearing about the politicization of U.S. Attorneys' offices around the country, is it a big surprise? 2003 was an election year in Mississippi, and the candidate was none other than ex-RNC head Haley Barbour. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that appointees in Washington pushed the Minor case as a great opportunity to hit the Democrats in the pocketbook while helping Barbour at the same time.